Many applications in the construction and building industries require the use of a pier to support or maintain the position of a building structure, the structure may be permanent, temporary or may be a plant item. There is also the requirement on occasions for the pier to be removable.
Currently known piers are screwed or driven into a ground surface and are not easily retrieved. These previously known piers also suffer from the disadvantage that as the surrounding soil is disturbed they are not well suited to side loading.
The above problem is addressed by forming a hole and constructing a concrete reinforced pier. This solution is reasonably expensive, with removal of the concrete pier being costly and time consuming.
Previously known piers are described in Australian Patent Applications 72562/91, 19930/95, 69340/98, 91466/98, 74750/81, 44922/96 and 14807/97, as well as International Patent Application PCT/AU98/00782 (WO 99/14441).